Friday, July 30, 2010

Epoch Fail



If there's anyone left to write it, history will show that the greatest crime committed by Fox "news", the RWS™, congressional Republicans, and the teabaggers who make them possible, is their climate change denial. With it, they have sealed the fate of our country, and of our planet. It's entirely at their feet. That the senate has abandoned attempts to craft meaningful legislation when the evidence is as clear as it is simply reflects the effects of the aforementioned idiocy. And it makes clear that our system of government is no longer capable of governing, and that the people it serves -- and who elected them -- have not enough collective wisdom to overcome being dragged down. It was a nice country, it was a nice planet, while it lasted.

What does it say about us when the formerly backward China gets it and we don't? What can be more dispiriting than this failure, given the evidence? It's as if a family decided not to leave its burning house because their favorite show was on. Or because someone told them that's not smoke anyway, that fear of flames is just a liberal plot to... to.... uh... something something.

See, the problem is that doing something would require people to think beyond their own personal gratification; and ever since Ronald Reagan they've been told they don't need to. Republicans give lip service to the idea of patriotism and sacrifice for the country they claim to love; but actually to save it, if doing so would require paying a little more in taxes, using a little less oil, thinking long-term, abandoning preferred (meaning "easy") beliefs to face facts, well, forget it. George Bush, after all, told us at the one moment we were together and maybe even shocked into willingness to do the hard stuff, that all we needed to do was go shopping. Go to Disneyland. And, of course, to pay less in taxes. That's when the idea of sacrifice, on life support since Ronald Reagan kissed Bonzo goodbye and placed his hand on the Bible, officially died.

I do understand, of course, that when a party has nothing to offer, tearing down the people with ideas is its only option. But it has always escaped me why certain things -- factual things -- should split along party lines. Climate change, evolution, age of the earth: shouldn't it just be, well, human, to be able to assimilate data, and not political? Evidently not, when one party deliberately and necessarily selects for uncritical thinkers. Non-thinkers. And praises them for it, while laughing at smart people.

How hard is the basic concept? Stop using fossil fuels. Or, to put it another way: STOP USING FOSSIL FUELS!!!!!

Yeah, well, actuation ain't as easy. But you don't even have to believe in anthropogenic climate change to see the need. 1) Sooner or later we'll run out of the stuff (unless you're among the lunatics who believe in abiogenic oil); 2) The faster we get off our need for imported oil, the safer we'll be; 3) NO ONE denies the effects of air pollution on our lungs (do they?), which, after all, are attached to our bodies even if we can't see them. So, you'd think, even as there is legitimate disagreement on how it should happen, everyone should be down with the idea that we have to get there. But no.

What kills me (all of us, actually) is the fact that our failure to do the right thing stems, as usual, not from having had a thorough debate and intelligent discussion of the issue and its solutions. It's because of stupid Senate rules and the way they allow complete idiots like James Inhofe to prevail. And it's because an entire network full of goons and morons legitimizes the idiocy in the eyes of the public. One can only imagine to what end.

I wish I'd live long enough to see those destructors live long enough to realize how wrong they were and how they killed our planet. On the other hand, these are clearly not people who'd ever muster that sort of introspection, extrovision, or self-criticism. But, corporatists that they are, they'll die after me, because they'll be the last to afford thousand dollar a gallon gas, the last to be able to pay for air conditioning, and a grand or two for a hamburger. The last to see what they did, even as they deny it.

One can hope.


27 comments:

  1. How are the rest of us supposed to get excited about this when the high priest Al Gore and all the media acolytes like Brad Pitt fly around in their planes to their different mansions? Do they believe this or not?

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  2. Hey, Blue, use any excuse you can think of to avoid doing something. It's what your side does. Yours is particularly silly and unoriginal, but it'll do as a perfect example of the ways people justify their selfishness and denialism. Personally, I check several times a day to see what Brad Pitt is doing. It's why I usually only post once a day.

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  3. I'M THE ONE WHO'S SELFISH???..
    I drive a 95 Chevy, not a Gulfstream, she'll get 28mpg on the highway if you've got a good tailwind and don't mind draftin 6 inches behind 18 wheelers....
    and your one to talk about "denial" Mr. Surgeon-who-I'm-pretty-sure-has-Alzheimers, Oh sure, I confuse 2010 with 1986 all the time...........NOT!!!!
    Seriously, did Abraham Lincoln sit around worryin about how we'd pick cotton in the 21st Century???
    When the Oil runs out(it won't) they'll find somethin else to burn for fuel.
    I'd prefer to burn A-rabs...
    I know, what about the smell, well you get used to it after awhile, just like you and your Alzheimers...

    Frank "Oriented to Person, Place, and whatever the other 2 are" Drackman

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  4. I'm willing to bet that I drive a "greener" vehicle than you do and have a smaller "carbon footprint."

    But I'm tired of being hectored by hypocrites like Gore and all the other libs who think that their public support excuses their personal excesses.

    Global warming? If any person is causing it (which is doubtful) it is not me. It's Gore.

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  5. well darn if my mean self didn't pop up as you see in #1 today, probly cause the cialis failed and i fergot my percs and oxy. I again apologice to all, thank you for the prayers to .....ooohhhh it hurts to make capital letters!!....to GOD from all of you guys. because i am obviously flipping in and out of two personalities, go easy on me, ignore the mean frank who calls our leader sid a wind Bag...ouch....and remember the kind, gentil Frank...ouch...sea spray...do you have a little frankie voodo doll and are you sticking pins in the left shoulder?
    If ouch....so, stop. I promise to be good from now on.

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  6. Actually Dr S ..isn't Blue right to bring it up in terms of hypocrisy?

    Do as I say ..but don't do as I do?

    That is not to excuse that it's a serious issue.

    But it is a valid question.

    I don't think you have to be affiliated with a political party to take issue with that. i would think the same if a conservative took the same stance ..but then in their own life did not live what they preach. And certainly they have done that with other issues.

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  7. Brilliant again, Blue. If anthropogenic global warming is "doubtful," so is gravity. But it's nice of you to continue showing us what the planet is up against.

    Meanwhile, my 15 year old car, with 211K miles, gets 29 mpg. And even if I were to buy a new one with better miles, it'd take decades to counter the carbon footprint of making a new car.

    But that's sort of complex, so I apologize. I assume it's like trying to read Chinese for you.

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  8. SeaSpray: if you wanna get into a hypocrisy contest, let's have at it.

    Sure, it's something to say. Does it change the reality, the need, the fact that Rs are stonewalling for ideological reasons and, in the case of guys like Coburn and Inhofe, pure stupidity?

    It's simply a Glenn Beck and all the rest of the RWS™ talking point. If Al Gore's an idiot (he is, in many ways), what's the point? Really, it's simply a distraction for people looking for excuses. For their selfishness, for their need to believe in Saint Ronnie, for their ignorance.

    The facts are overwhelming, not only regarding climate change, but ocean acidification, the positive feedback loop therefrom... To focus on Al Gore is to admit you want to hide your head in the sand. I wish you long life, so you'll find out.

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  9. Damn Sid, 211,000 miles??? thats 20,000 more than I've driven in the same time, and you're callen ME selfish???
    I know, you miss that exit and you don't realize it for 2,500 miles...
    and I don't even wanta think how many you put on that Model T....
    seriously, if you were drivin to the Moon you'd still have another 40,000 miles to go, the Universe is a big place.
    And so is the Earth, there's enough Oil for everyone, even if God isn't still makin more(he is) just like he does with Doritos and Chinamen.

    Frank "Helen Thomas is a Fossil Fuel" Drackman

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  10. Umm... the last ten years, the warmest on record...

    The Northwest Passage - now a reality...

    Pacific islanders flooded from their homes...

    The largest amounts of snow in Alaska coming from Sarah Falin...

    Nothing to see here...move along citizens.

    EugeneInSanDiego

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  11. ya know sid, when it comes down to it, drivin that old lexus of yours for the carbon footprint of a carolina jumpin mouse is the most unselfishe thing ofthis day for me. I finaly got my upper plate, cigs and stash of cialis back from preop, but then i left ma home place, drivin with my battered left arm, i was steering with the good right, shifting and semi gooffed up with perc and ocy, going to the liker store for mre saffaire..and this her lady with a behive hairdo in a diesel mercedes Cut...ooooh...caps still relly hurt...cut me off. she gave me a finer, not nowing who i was, and so i sped up and on her bumer was O..ouch...obama/biden 2008...as if i didnt know. she had two huge afgan dogs and a parokeet on the seat back...and lookin closer, there was a SIGN "ouch.. a sign...feminism forever" on the side. she flipped me off a second time and i continued on, poopped another oxy and finished up at the liker store buying saffaire. you ar reight, it helps pain. thank you for your prayers everone. i am really workin on belivin in god and global warmin. i need encouragement, not curses on you drackman frum folks like ugeneeee...which just sets me off real bad.... time for another oxy and perc and may lay on sum saffire to settle it down...damn...not bein able to do caps letters is tough to take for a purfectionist liek me. frank "in a sling and under medication" ouch big time.... D ouch....rackman

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  12. Ha ha! No voodoo dolls Frank. But that is an amusing thought.

    I'd rather use a tickle pin then a pain pin though.

    Just make you get all cute,cuddly and laughing ..cialis and all. ;)

    No contest Dr S ..it's just an observation. They should lead by example is all. Don't preach it if you aren't going to abide by it. And that is true of anyone in life.

    I also wanted to tell your friend John that I enjoy reading his comments and he should comment more often. I loved M*A*S*H* and Hawkeye. :)

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  13. Ewww-gene...
    don't you need to feed one of the 8 year old boys in your basement???
    I know, I know, it puts the lotion on its skin...

    Frank

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  14. Hawkeye Pierce, MD FACSJuly 31, 2010 at 9:34 AM

    Thank you Sea Spray for the kind reference. It is obvious that Frankie has bounced back and has returned to his "old self". I did enjoy the kinder, gentler Frankie which apparently was drug-induced, but he is back to calling Sid "a big wind bag", insulting the dead spirit of our great Ted Kennedy, implying tacitly that Oldsmobiles don't float well, knocking Dykes, insinuating that our leader, Dr. Sid could cut his carotid and has Alzheimers, and dissing Eugene's genes. Not to mention insulting this 85 year old M*A*S*H veteran who was a Friend (oooh...sometimes those caps do hurt...your are spot on Frankie)...of the Writer (ouch) of Mash...Dr. Hooker, whose real name was Richard Hornberger of, Waterville, Maine, and like I, Dartmouth and New York Hospital and a chest cutter. Now Frankie, it would seem to me that the 95 Chevy you tout so highly has no catalytic converter, is a cancer maker, and it also tells me you are living on the edge of poverty. No self-respecting gas-passer at our hospital would drive anything made over three years ago. And Sid (ouch...those damned caps)..and sid has an acura, not a L (ouch) lexus. Get your facts straight before posting. I'm headed out for a 20K steeplechase run at 6,000 feet as part of Old Timer's Day here in the mountains. Enjoy your perc and oxy.

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  15. John ..your a good friend to Sid. Sid gives it right back. I think they actually like sparring with each other. I'm just on the sidelines every now and then watching the show.

    I loved MASH. One of the BEST shows ever. I always joked that working with the ER was like working with MASH. (I just pushed the papers - reception. ha! Guess I was Radar ..right in the mix of things too. :)

    Anyway ..I often said working with the ER was like working with MASH, because when It's busy ..you work like crazy and when it's not ..THEY'RE crazy. (Always a gag going on for something. And a lot of fun. I miss it.)

    I'd like to own the whole series sometime. saw it in Costco once but didn't get it.

    That must've been an interesting friendship John. And you probably appreciated the show even more having an inside track to the writer's experience.

    When you say chest cutter ..do you mean thoracic surgeon?

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  16. Franky- A direct question: Aside from being mean spirited, acting stupid, and making comments that disregard fact, what point is it exaclty, are you are trying to make? Are you just trying to have fun? Like any class clown, or purposely obnoxious jerk, you certainly don't know when to quit, and you certainly know how to make an ass of yourself. What gives pal?

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  17. This is not a very erudite statement, but me? I walk and if I need a car I rent a car for the day.
    Trains, high speed rail (in densely populated areas, re-organizing our work space and home to be very near each other. Down with suburbia, highly overrated..

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  18. Good thing you have a high paying white collar job, Health Train Express.
    Y'see, Joe 6-Pack can't afford to rent a car everytime he needs one, its like livin at the Chicken Ranch full time instead of meeting a nice girl and settlin down.
    And you just try ridin the train in the A-T-L, its called "MARTA" which stands for "Mainly Africans Riding Through Atlanta".
    First few times, you probably wouldnt get robbed/beaten because they'd think you were either an undercover cop, or psychotic, or a psychotic undercover cop.
    Paid $16,500 for my Camaro in Dec 1994, still runs great, except the clutch(original)is startin to slip a little, I'd get it fixed, but I sorta like the smell. Only costs me bout $80 for tag/emissions, $250 for insurance, and I change my own Oil.
    it'll still do 90mph all day long at 2250 rpm in 6th gear, even if it is missin some of its origianl 275 Horsies...

    Frank "Keepin that Pimp Hand Strong" Drackman

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  19. Let's see...carbon emission is 19.4 pounds/gallon. So you're admitting to pumping over two thousands tons of carbon into the atmosphere? And I'm guessing that's just one car. Your wife's car has that many miles or more. That's not quite as much as Sheryl Crow and her seven big rigs yp get to work (she makes up for it with the one sheet of toilet paper thing) but still--what gave you the right to poison the world? No wonder the earth has warmed so much! No wonder the hockey stick thing is going to kill us!

    You could adopt my lifestyle--I work at home, over the Internet. Take public transit. Haven't bought a new car since...1974, I think.

    Did you ever notice the word conservative includes..."conserve"? None of my Republican friends live a consumery life. Some of them are (sit down--you'll hate this part especially) evangelical Christians! And they live a "greener" life than you do!

    I think the only people I know with more than one house and a lot of travel to make that possible are the dems! (They were also the ones who sent pictures of Obama in a limo with 17" rims and laughed that he should show up for the inauguration in a long fur coat and pimp hat. They also own more guns than my Republican friends.)

    My Republican and Christian friends just don't run around telling everyone how to save the earth. Ironic, since they're the ones saving it the most.

    dems are hypocrites. All of them. It's sad, isn't it?

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  20. Look--a story for Frank. How even the dems are embarrassed by Obama.

    The few honest ones, that is.

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  21. I can't tell if I included Frank's link. Here it is...possibly again:

    http://www.11alive.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=148382&catid=40

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  22. You're a lucky guy, Blue. Telecommuting and more wonderful friends than the rest of us. Tell us: how does a surgeon telecommute? Or a janitor, a machinist, a teacher, a nurse? A worker at McDonalds. A busboy.

    One thing about you non-hypocritical Republican evangelicals. You believe if you can do it, then anyone who can't deserves no credit. Or help. Or sympathy. Sort of a WWJD, but where D=don't.

    Not everyone has the luxury of laying around home and gloating about it. But good for you, and shame on the rest of us.

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  23. ...a janitor, a machinist, a teacher, a nurse? A worker at McDonalds. A busboy...

    And how should any of these afford a spiffy electric car, so that they don't have to undergo the shame called down on them by the well-to-do surgeon with his no-emission-mobile?

    How will any of them "Stop using fossil fuels. Or, to put it another way: STOP USING FOSSIL FUELS!!!!!"???

    Apparently you haven't stopped. So why is that the Republicans' fault? Why don't you stop, so you can stop screwing the earth? You believe you are, right?

    And Al Gore believes he is. At least, he has a billion reasons to believe it.

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  24. PS--while you're at it, since 53% of the country voted for Obama, how about if all of them just pony up a little more in taxes? You can always pay a little more--I think there's a form for it.

    Just a little bit. If that's the solution, we'll be 53% of the way there. Show us it works, maybe we'll all join in.

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  25. Well, OK, I confess to having written Franz Drackman from pre-op and Frank Drackman II thereafter. I wrote in my own vernacular, as John Baldwin MD and Hawkeye Pierce from Mash. The stats from M*A*S*H about authorship and my relationship with Dr.Hooker are all true.
    Sea Spray,Eugene, Anonymous, and all the rest of the loyal cadre..forgive me. I did not know but had to do it. Oh oh...here's Frankie again:
    "Those capital letters still ruffle my alredy hurtin shouoder-place..and yes,I am tickled pink the gas passer and the surgeon-cutter did not out me, cuase, damn, I am a contuiversiaole guy in these here parts....imaging a guy puttin you to "sleep" who is an Obama dimocrat and ALSO competes with yu for freakin paaatients !!! Try that on you libs...ya don't know if you'll wake up... so don't start swawkin about Obama care...cause you might just get some guy who asks you befour you go down...just whose your party...an you look at his long hair an figgure "liberal creep" and you blow it.... cuase he's/she's a closet RWS..and one twst of the dial and...gonzo! you become one of the 35,000 killed each year in medical accidents."
    And from HaWkeye Piece JNB..."Well Frank, we shall miss you, and so easily foxed by an "old guy" like I am...well, you just lost credbility, or should we blame the "conversion" to preops,perc and oxy
    Sorry Frank,but by any standards, you have been had and outed. Did not read, comprehend or understand your counterfeit comments,. as Franz rackman from pre op cubuicle, or Frank Drackman II...you were in La La land...as always.
    Exposed. Naked. Done.
    But hey Frank, that 95 Chevy has lots of miles left...use them...go somewhere
    Try Barrow, Alaska...farthest most American city...COOL place. Just be sure to put 100% antifreeze in the radiator...anything less will freeze.
    It gives me great pleasure, at age 62, to fox you big time, albeit lying like a Charlie Rangel to do it...but I did it..and interested bloggers can go back five essays...to the pre op, the begging for prayer from the cubicle, to the"converted to prayer and global warming" to the "new Frankie" and then the old frankie. And folks prayed for you man, and you were the "new
    frankie" and you were loved and you had it made!,,,Yo Drackman II a reborn Frankie with love and compassion...folks!
    But it was all....it was....well...
    It was all Hawkeye Pierce. Just old JB. Not 85 but 65 and can wrestle a bear and yes, does 20K steeplechases,. finished 3rd out of 107 in my age group today...going to bed now. My wife is 23 and needs me. Love all you RWS guys and I guess, DWS as well...to me, they are all the same. Love you guys..especially, you FRANZ. Drive that 95 Chevy with pride in your chipmunk-sized carbon footprint. Just dodn't take me on in my Nissan Armada head-on. You are toast JB

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  26. Blue: honestly, I can't tell if you're serious, because it's hard to believe anyone who can type, even if with one finger, can be so stupid.

    The point of STOP USING OIL is that that's what we need to strive for, and the energy legislation that the Rs killed would have been a step in that direction. No one, not even me, is advocating everyone stop now. It's that we need to find alternatives, and to reduce the amounts we use in the meantime.

    But, assuming you have four Betz cells to rub together, I think you know that. It's just that you can't really make an argument in defense of congressional Rs, so, like the typical troll, you do your usual non sequitorial distractions.

    The taxes comment? In that, I'm certain you're not serious. Good one. It's like Jack the Ripper pleading to stop the killing.

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  27. Huh? Okay ..I admit ..I have to do a double take tomorrow when not so tired? I'm just a tad confused.

    No blaming it in my conservative brain either Dr S. jest a bit tired.. and confused over the JB post. ?

    ha! Everything always looks better in the morning. and now off to watch scrubs.

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